Two Algerian journalists sentenced to prison for libel

New York, July 9, 2012--Algerian appellate courts should
reverse rulings against two journalists who were sentenced to prison in June on
libel charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On June 25, Fatima Zahraa Amara, a journalist for the local
online newspaper Akher Sa3a (The Last Hour), was sentenced by a court in
the city of Annaba to two months in prison, a fine of 20,000 Algerian dinars
(US$246), and 100,000 Algerian dinars (US$1,233) in damages on libel charges,
according to news
reports. The former director of a local hospital had filed a complaint
against Amara for reporting on a court case in which an employee accused him of
sexual harassment, news reports said.

Ten days earlier, a court in the city of Mascara sentenced
Manseur Si Mohamed, bureau chief of the French-language daily La Nouvelle
République and head of the Mascara branch of the National Syndicate of
Journalists, to two months in prison and a fine of 50,000 Algerian dinars (US$620)
on libel charges, according to news
reports. The director of a local tax office had filed a complaint against Mohamed
for a story
that alleged he hadn't complied with court rulings concerning an employee, news
reports said.

Amara and Mohamed will both appeal their cases, but no court
dates have been set yet, Kamel Amarni, the secretary general of the Algerian
National Syndicate of Journalists (SNJ), told CPJ. Amarni said the journalists
are both free pending appeal. He said the rulings were surprising and unfounded
because Algeria's new media law, which came into effect in January 2012, does
not cite imprisonment as a penalty for press offenses. The SNJ is protesting
both rulings, he said.

"These sentences go against the spirit of Algeria's new
media law. Defamation is a matter for the civil, not criminal, courts, and
journalists should not go to jail for what they write," said CPJ Deputy
Director Robert Mahoney. "The appellate courts must confirm that Algeria is on
the road to decriminalizing press offenses by overturning these prison
sentences."

CPJ conducted an analysis
of the country's new media law, finding it wrought with ambiguities and falling
short of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's promises of reform.